Improving customer experience: start with the basics
26 March 2021
It probably won't surprise you that I consider improving customer experience just as important as sales, a solid marketing strategy, or operational excellence. It's just my nature, a passion for customers, a desire to improve the world—call it what you will—but I am and remain firmly convinced that every company benefits from engaging in customer experience management.
But how do you even get started? And what exactly do you need to work on? During the first months of Customerry, the same questions kept coming back. It got me thinking, and I came to the conclusion that, although there is a lot of talk about customer experience, only a few entrepreneurs truly understand what customer experience management actually entails. And how can you improve something if you don't fully understand what it is? So, it was time for a crash course and some irresistible tips to get started yourself.
Improving customer experience or becoming customer-centric: do you know the difference?
Let me start with a few basic concepts. What is customer experience management, what is customer centricity (yes, there is a difference), and who within your company should or could be working on this.
What is customer experience?
“Every perception and emotion a customer experiences during all interactions with your company throughout the entire customer journey and across all channels.” Quite a mouthful, but still my favorite definition of exactly what customer experience encompasses. Are you curious about even more details regarding what customer experience actually is? Then the previous article on this subject is definitely recommended.
What is customer centricity?
A truly customer-centric company views its customers as the guiding principle and always puts their well-being first. Customers are the number one priority, always, everywhere, and in every decision. This does not mean that they blindly do everything the customer asks, but rather that with every decision, they ask themselves what the added value for or the impact on the customer is. And that the answer to that question carries more weight than, for example, the impact on internal processes. This is therefore definitely something different from customer experience management. After all, not every company that engages in customer experience management is necessarily a customer-centric company. Just think of certain price competitors in the retail sector, for instance.
Improving customer experience: whose job is that, really?
In a word: Everyone. But of course, it is not that simple. Just like all other tasks in your company, it is best to ensure that one or more people are responsible for drafting and executing all your customer-facing plans. Depending on your size, this could be the CEO or part of your management team, but also a marketing manager or a customer success manager. Incidentally, I am seeing that latter position popping up more and more in SMEs, which is nothing but good news for the customer! Finally, just a quick note: Larger companies often have a complete CX department. Do not let this discourage you; you certainly do not need a 50-person team to improve your customer experience. On the contrary, it is mainly about involving the right people in the right steps, but more on that later.
Improving your customer experience: how do you actually get started?
Just to be clear, there is no such thing as *the* right approach to successfully completing a customer-centric transformation. However, there are a number of golden rules that apply to every project, no matter how small or large. If you keep these firmly in mind throughout your entire journey, you will already be well on your way!
Start with the basics.
It sounds simple, but it turns out not to be. You want to focus on improving your customer experience. That’s great, of course, but what exactly does that mean? What experience can customers expect from you? Is that actually what your customers want? And how should your employees go about achieving this?
As long as you cannot provide a clear answer to these types of questions, you are primarily engaged in patchwork. There is nothing wrong with that in itself, were it not for the fact that consistency in customer experience is extremely important. And you can only convey consistency if you know very well yourself what your customer experience should look like. Therefore: start with the basics. Ensure a well-thought-out, substantiated strategy in clear and unambiguous terms. And no, that really doesn't have to be a job of months. But without strategic choices and a clear identity (= who we want to be for our customer), you will soon notice that your efforts do not fully have the desired effect.
Start from the customer.
But truly from the customer's perspective. And preferably from the perspective of people in general. What do I mean by that? If you want to put the customer at the center of your business, you really need to talk to those customers regularly. Get to know them, ask what is on their minds, what needs they have, what challenges they are trying to solve. In other words, show genuine interest in your customers. But also in your employees, since they are often in daily contact with your customers. I bet they could immediately provide you with several concrete points for improvement during just one conversation.
So be curious and listen with an open mindset to the stories that emerge. And in any case, keep the following in mind: improving customer experience without ever having spoken to a customer is impossible. If your plans are drawn up in a meeting room and primarily start from 'we think customer X' or 'we know customer Z wants', then you probably started with the best intentions, but you have mainly worked on your own efficiency and internal processes.
Involve the right people.
I wrote this before: improving your customer experience on your own from your office simply doesn't work. So make sure you involve the right people, preferably from the very beginning. Who are the right people? That depends on your organization. But in any case, it is a diverse mix of people who are in close contact with your customers and back office, or internal employees.
A concrete example. For a medium-sized garage, the team looked like this: Manager, Workshop Employee, Sales Manager, Warehouse Worker, and Administrative Manager. Add… the customer, of course. This doesn't mean your customer has to be present at every brainstorming session, but it does mean you need to have sufficient relevant customer feedback available during your sessions. Oh, and don't forget to involve your external partners, such as IT or marketing, where necessary. After all, you don't want to come up with a great plan only to conclude that your current systems can't handle it.
Finally: how do you know where to start?
By starting over at the basics and therefore first and foremost determining where you stand today. For just as you cannot work on something you do not understand, you cannot improve without knowing your current state of affairs. So, your very first step is to investigate how customer-oriented your company already is today. Analyzing what you already have, by the way, ensures that improving your customer experience proceeds much more efficiently afterwards.
How customer-oriented is your company today?
Let's find out! You can complete the Customerry self-test in less than 10 minutes, after which you can expect a personal analysis in your mailbox within a few business days.
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